Three Drumheller youth who earned gold Duke of Edinburgh awards will be honoured in Calgary Friday by his highness Prince Edward himself.

            Madison Colberg, Raine McDougald, and Avril Wilson from Drumheller, and Moriah Ohlhauser from Carbon, and Lowell Nelson from Morrin will be among 150 other Albertans honoured for earning the highest level of the Duke of Edinburgh international award at Canada Olympic Park this Friday, where a number of guests including Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, will be on hand. The event will conclude with some award participants exhibiting talents in music, sport, arts, and science for Prince Edward.

            “To get gold is unreal,” previously said Constable Craig Nelson, who has helped coordinate the award program in Drumheller. “We are encouraging kids to volunteer, to be physically fit and active and to get out of their comfort zone on an adventurous journey and to learn new skills,” he said.

At an awards ceremony in Drumheller April 12, six area youth were awarded bronze level awards and the three gold level awards were handed out. They included Lucas Aulenback, Moriah Ohlhauser, Carmanah Olbrich, Mykenzie Toffan, Carmanah Olbrich, Charlese Gridley, and Karson Gridley.

“The award program is designed to encourage experiential learning and participation in physical fitness, volunteer service, cognitive skills, and outdoor adventure,” said Duke of Edinburgh regional executive director Candace Denison.

The award provides a significant scholarship or resume distinction for the recipients.

Drumheller’s involvement in the award began in 2011.

The Town of Drumheller is lobbying Alberta Infrastructure to take action on an odour issue emanating from the Royal Tyrrell Museum’s sewage system and affecting residents in southwest Drumheller.

In a letter to the minister, Mayor Terry Yemen said he was “disappointed” with the response received from Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda, in what he called “the province’s lack of action” in attempting to resolve the issue, which has been identified as the result of wastewater in piping. 

Monitoring from the province shows the level of hydrogen sulfide built up in the piping exceeds acceptable limits and has been affecting residents near 4 Avenue SW.

“The odour is very problematic for our residents in the area and they have not been able to enjoy their properties at certain times throughout the year,” Mayor Yemen said.

In the letter, the town is suggests a solution to the ongoing problem could involve converting the holding tank at the location to a lift station, or trying new equipment called a “Little John Digester” that is designed to reduce fats, oils, and grease in lift stations to reduce odours. 

The town is lobbying the province to provide the necessary resources to develop a solution. Mayor Yemen, CAO Ray Romanetz, and councillor Jay Garbutt had met with infrastructure minister Brian Mason in early March and were of the understanding that the minister would provide the required resources.

“This is clearly a provincial issue and we require government action to resolve this serious problem that has gone on for far too long and it needs to be dealt with now,” Yemen said in his letter to the minister.